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Emanuel Sandhu
Emanuel Sandhu (born November 18, 1980) is a Canadian figure skater. He is a three-time Canadian national champion and the 2004 Grand Prix champion. Biography Sandhu was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canadian and raised in Richmond Hill, Ontario. His mother Enza was born in Italy, and his father Lokraj is a Sikh of Indian descent. He began studying ballet at the age of three and figure skating at the age of eight. Despite training as a figure skater, Sandhu continued to dance until the end of high school and graduated from Canada's National Ballet School. A year after Sandhu started figure skating, he was discovered by coach Joanne Mcleod who has a background in dance and she has been his coach ever since. Sandhu later relocated to Burnaby, British Columbia to continue training at the B.C. Centre of Excellence with Mcleod, whom he credits as being his biggest support system. Sandhu's ballet training and East Indians (ethnic group)/Italian heritage have given him a unique style and look. He is fluent in English, French, and Italian. Sandhu also dabbles in modeling and singing. Sandhu had early success in Canada, placing second in his first Canadian nationals. He has placed on the podium ever since. Sandhu's success qualified for the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, but the Canadian Olympic committee refused to send him. He later qualified for the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, but was forced to withdraw before the short program due to injury. He also withdrew from the World championships that year. Sandhu's father had left the family years earlier, and Sandhu was reunited with him prior to the 2002 Olympic Games. Sandhu has stated that he was almost relieved to have to withdraw with an injury, because it was difficult dealing with his father's return. Sandhu was the Canadian Nationals Champion in 2001, 2003, and 2004, and he won the Grand Prix Final in 2004, his most successful season. In winning the Grand Prix Final, Sandhu beat reigning World Champion Evgeny Plushenko and is one of only two people (with Brian Joubert) to beat Plushenko in the last quadrennium. This win was even more amazing because Sandhu was a substitute, not having medaled at his Grand Prix events that season. Sandhu went on to win his third Canadian title and to take the silver medal at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, his highest placement there. Despite his various victories, Sandhu has a reputation for choking at high pressure events. He kept his eligibility following the 2006 Olympics season. He competed at Cup of China, where he won the bronze medal, and Cup of Russia, where he placed fifth. At the 2007 Nationals, he was unable to hold onto silver and dropped to third, his lowest placement at the senior level at Nationals. His season continued its downward trend as he placed ninth at the 2007 Four Continents Championships. He placed 16th at the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships. In May 2008, Sandu auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance Canada in Vancouver, BC and qualified for the final audition round in Toronto. He succeeded past all but the final round of auditions and was cut when selections were made for the show's "top 20". Records and Achievements * Recipient of the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award at age 17. Programs Competitive highlights External links *Official Site *Skate Canada Profile * *Modeling Portfolio *NBCOlympics Profile Category:Canadian figure skaters